From St. Ignace on the mainland to the car-free streets of Mackinac Island, Mackinac County is a place of ferries, lakeshore and long winters. Many homes here are older year-round village houses or seasonal cottages, and a lot of them were built before modern codes. That shows up on the stairs: narrow treads, steep pitches and odd turns are common.
The county wraps around shorelines on both Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, and 74.7% of residents live in rural areas. This page walks through what that means for fitting a stair lift, what kind of lift tends to suit local homes, and which programs in the Upper Peninsula can help you figure out the cost.
Housing here includes single-family homes, detached houses, townhouses, walk-up apartments and split-level homes. A large share of the county's housing is seasonal: Census data cited by Wikipedia shows 52.1% of housing units were vacant, mostly seasonal or recreational. Many of those cottages, along with older farmhouses and village homes, have few built-in accessibility features.
A straight staircase with a clear run is the simplest fit, and a straight rail can often go on narrow stairs as long as there is room to fold the seat and footrest. Stairs that turn at a landing, or that wind as they climb, usually need a curved rail built to measure. Split-level homes often have two short flights, which may call for two lifts or one curved rail.
Walk-up apartments raise a different question. If the stairs are shared, the building owner has to agree before anything is mounted.
Lakeside cottages and older houses often have exterior steps up to a porch or entry. An outdoor stair lift is built for weather, which matters in a county surrounded by water. If the person uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat, a platform lift is the option to look at instead of a chair-style lift.
For a seasonal home that sits empty part of the year, ask how the lift should be covered or checked when you return. Moisture and cold are hard on any equipment left outside.
Mackinac County covers 2,101 square miles, and 51% of that is water. Population density is about 10.60 persons per square mile. That spread affects how quickly an installer can schedule a visit and come back for service.
Mackinac Island can only be reached by ferry or air, and there are no cars. Moving a rail and chair to an island home takes more planning than a mainland job, and follow-up maintenance visits need to be planned the same way. If you are on the island, bring this up at the first call so the timing is realistic.
The county's median age is 53, notably older than the U.S. median, and 19.7% of residents are 65 or older. Many people here want to stay in the homes they know, and for a two-story house the stairs are often the first real obstacle.
That matters because VA programs have their own rules about stair lifts, covered in the next section.
The county's economy runs on tourism and is seasonal, and the poverty rate is 16.1%. Household budgets can be tight in the off-season, so it helps to check every source before buying. None of the local programs below name stair lifts specifically, and the VA HISA grant expressly excludes them, so treat each one as a conversation to start rather than a sure thing.
Good first calls are UPCAP through 2-1-1 for aging services, the Chippewa Luce Mackinac Community Action Agency in St. Ignace for low-income homeowners, and USDA Section 504 for rural repair loans and grants. Statewide, the MI Choice Waiver Program, MI Coordinated Health (formerly MI Health Link) and the MSHDA Property Improvement Program (PIP) are also worth asking about.
Veterans should start with Mackinac County Veterans Services at (906) 643-9411. They can help sort out which VA benefits apply.
The Area Agency on Aging for all 15 Upper Peninsula counties, including Mackinac County, coordinating long-term care programs such as MI Choice. It lists home modifications for accessibility as a service category but does not name stair lifts; start with a 2-1-1 screening.
An information, advocacy and independent-living group serving people with disabilities in all 15 Upper Peninsula counties. Its source does not mention stair lifts or home modification funding, so use it for referrals and advice at (906) 228-5744.
Zero-interest loans, secured by a lien on the property, for low-income homeowners in Mackinac, Chippewa or Luce Counties, including senior citizens and disabled persons. The program describes safety improvements and major repairs but does not name stair lifts; call (906) 643-8595 or visit the Fenlon Center at 368 Reagan Street, St. Ignace.
Loans up to $40,000 at 1% interest and grants up to $10,000 for homeowners 62 and older who cannot repay a loan, combined up to $50,000, for very-low-income owners in eligible rural areas like Mackinac County. Grants can be used to make a home accessible for a household member with a disability, though stair lifts are not named specifically.
A lifetime benefit of $6,800 or $2,000, depending on the veteran's disability, for medically necessary home alterations prescribed by a VA physician. It specifically excludes stair glides and porch lifts, so it does not cover stair lifts.
Grants for veterans with qualifying service-connected disabilities: SAH up to $126,526 and SHA up to $25,350 for FY2026, with Temporary Residence Adaptation up to $50,961 or $9,100. The source gives examples like ramps and wider doorways but does not name stair lifts.
A county service office in St. Ignace that helps veterans and their families work through federal and state veterans benefits; it does not list a stair lift fund of its own. Call (906) 643-9411.
Older adults
P.O. Box 606, 2501 14th Ave. South, Escanaba, 49829
Veterans
100 Marley Street, Courthouse Annex, Room 105, St. Ignace, 49781
The island is reachable only by ferry or air and has no cars, which makes installation and later service visits harder to schedule than on the mainland. Mention that your home is on the island when you first call so the plan accounts for it.
Narrow, steep and non-standard staircases are common in older rural and lakeside homes here. A measurement at the home decides whether a straight rail works or a curved rail built to fit is needed.
Not through the HISA grant, which specifically excludes stair glides. The SAH and SHA grants do not name stair lifts either way, so talk with Mackinac County Veterans Services at (906) 643-9411 about what applies to you.
The USDA Section 504 grant is limited to homeowners 62 and older, but its repair loan of up to $40,000 at 1% does not carry that age limit in the source. The CLM CAA Home Rehabilitation Program also serves low-income homeowners, including disabled persons, in Mackinac County.
UPCAP is the Area Agency on Aging for all 15 Upper Peninsula counties. Its first step is a 2-1-1 screening to see whether a formal Level of Care assessment makes sense.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
